Investors are always on the lookout for a competitive edge. The ability to peer slightly into the future is a key edge to exploit, be it company guidance for the next quarter or analyst projections over the next couple of years. But one company has gone a step further than… Read More

The energy industry has been especially turbulent recently, and investors looking for opportunity in companies afflicted by the offshore rig explosion and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are positioned right in the middle of the hurricane. I’ve spent some time in the hurricane and… Read More

Retirees and others that rely on income from their investments will be the first to tell you that interest rates are not what they used to be. Prior to the credit crisis, an individual with $2 million saved up could achieve a six-figure income just by holding a diversified basked… Read More

During downturns in the business cycle, companies focus on cutting costs as it becomes more difficult to grow sales. Existing customers generally spend less and it is very challenging to find new customers when everyone is battening down the hatches. The severity of the current downturn could… Read More

A recent survey by Interbrand, a leading brand consulting firm, awarded top brand honors to Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO). Should this come as any surprise? Perhaps not. But what is surprising is that a new related product appears to be breathing new life into the firm’s more mature markets, while the company continues to expand at an impressive clip in faster-growing emerging markets. Just recently, Coca-Cola’s home market was seen as a liability that was dragging down more compelling growth prospects overseas, especially in the high-growth BRIC (Brazil, Russia,… Read More

A recent survey by Interbrand, a leading brand consulting firm, awarded top brand honors to Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO). Should this come as any surprise? Perhaps not. But what is surprising is that a new related product appears to be breathing new life into the firm’s more mature markets, while the company continues to expand at an impressive clip in faster-growing emerging markets. Just recently, Coca-Cola’s home market was seen as a liability that was dragging down more compelling growth prospects overseas, especially in the high-growth BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries and those quickly developing a new class of mass consumers. But then, almost completely out of nowhere, Coke Zero came along. The zero-calorie take on the company’s flagship beverage pushed volume growth up a couple of percent in North America — a notable reversal of an extended period of flat volume trends. Second quarter results released late in July saw total worldwide volume increase +5% — even ahead of even the company’s own expectations. Volumes led by the flagship Coca-Cola brand grew +5% as well. The Interbrand survey cited above placed… Read More

If I were to reverse engineer the ideal company to invest in, it would be one that is a leader in its industry, operates in a fast-growing market, has a globally diversified revenue stream that emphasizes emerging economies, has a strong balance sheet with no debt, boasts high profit margins and double-digit returns on invested capital. Sounds like an investor’s dream, doesn’t it? But wait, it gets better…   Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) nearly owns the market for communications equipment. The tech… Read More

If I were to reverse engineer the ideal company to invest in, it would be one that is a leader in its industry, operates in a fast-growing market, has a globally diversified revenue stream that emphasizes emerging economies, has a strong balance sheet with no debt, boasts high profit margins and double-digit returns on invested capital. Sounds like an investor’s dream, doesn’t it? But wait, it gets better…   Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) nearly owns the market for communications equipment. The tech titan just completed a year in which global sales grew +11% in a very challenging economic environment, reported +35% growth in emerging markets, has a net cash hoard of $28 billion, logged a net profit margin of 19.4% and returns on invested capital (ROIC) of 16%. (If you remove excess cash from the equation, ROIC is even higher). Yet for some reason the market knocked the shares down more than -9% in Thursday trading, as fourth quarter sales… Read More

The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will alter the landscape for offshore drilling for decades to come. Uncertainty over new regulations, lawsuits and the near-term hit to business in the region have sent the share prices of many major players in the industry to multi-year lows. But at current valuations, shares of these major players are pricing in extremely negative outcomes and don’t take into consideration that Gulf drilling is a small and declining percentage of global activity. As a result, I’ve found one major industry player that… Read More

The oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico will alter the landscape for offshore drilling for decades to come. Uncertainty over new regulations, lawsuits and the near-term hit to business in the region have sent the share prices of many major players in the industry to multi-year lows. But at current valuations, shares of these major players are pricing in extremely negative outcomes and don’t take into consideration that Gulf drilling is a small and declining percentage of global activity. As a result, I’ve found one major industry player that qualifies as “The Bargain Stock of the Year.” After several months of high-level drama and extreme uncertainty, the oil spill in the Gulf appears to finally be under control. BP plc (NYSE: BP) is in the midst of completing its “static kill” cap that should stem the leak from the Macondo well permanently. In addition to the devastation the disaster has brought to the Gulf region, share prices of BP and its partners in the well, which include Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) and Mitsui, which owned about 25% and 10% of the well, respectively,… Read More

The unemployment rate in the United States has only recently experienced some moderately good news, dipping back into the single digits to 9.5% — a slight downtick from 9.7% in May. A 9.5% unemployment rate is still… Read More

The largest players in the technology space garner the lion’s share of attention. Investors are obsessed with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), as are consumers who have shifted from snapping up iPods to iPhones and the newest iPad device. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) is the other big name that draws attention with its… Read More

An easy way to make money in the market is to buy a stock that has been beaten down due to short-term worries. Of course the rub is discerning whether the problem is indeed temporary. But there is considerable upside to identifying a setback that will not permanently impair a… Read More